Northwestern names new president

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- The president of Williams College, a highly regarded liberal arts school in Massachusetts, is heading west -- to lead much larger Northwestern University.

The schools announced Morton Owen Schapiro's appointment Tuesday. He is a recognized national expert in the economics of higher education and taught economics courses while serving as Williams' president.

At Williams since 2000, Schapiro shepherded a substantial reduction in class size and several building projects, including a center for theater and dance, a student center, and new buildings for classrooms and faculty offices.

"I will always treasure my experience at Williams, where I've learned so much," Schapiro said in a news release. "But this is a tremendous opportunity to go to one of the best major research universities in the country. I very much look forward to being there and getting to know the Northwestern community."

Schapiro will become Northwestern's 16th president next fall, replacing Henry Bienen, who is stepping down after 14 years.

Northwestern's search committee chairman, William Osborn, said Schapiro was a unanimous choice.

"His grasp of the issues facing higher education, the complexities of a research university, his impressive record of academic achievement and leadership and his instant rapport with all the members of the committee made it clear that he was a perfect fit for Northwestern," Osborn said.

Williams has an undergraduate enrollment of 2,000 students. Northwestern, a private Big Ten university with a main campus in Evanston, Ill., and others in Chicago and Qatar, has about 8,000 undergraduates and 7,500 graduate and professional students.